Remembering Aunt Ruth Brings Up A Lot Of Other Memories

Yesterday I made mention of being At Wichita Bluff Nature Area Summit Learning Sad News About Aunt Ruth regarding the passing of my Aunt Ruth. I made mention of the fact that Aunt Ruth and Uncle Hank, and their three kids spent many years in Australia. I also made mention of the fact that I did not remember when last I saw Aunt Ruth, Uncle Hank and their kids.

I think the year was 1995. My dad had retired. That summer they took their long planned cross country roadtrip in their RV. Including visiting Sugarcreek, Ohio, where Hank and Ruth located after Australia.

That is what we are seeing in the above photo documentation. That is my dad in the center. To dad's left, that is Aunt Ruth, next to Uncle Hank. I also recognize Australian cousin Carol, to the right of dad, and Aunt Judy, with Judy's first husband, Uncle Mel, between Judy and Carol. I think Carol's big brother, Danny is in the back between Ruth and Hank. I do not see the third Aussie cousin, Steve. That is Aunt Jane on the far right, holding a baby. I see Aunt Jane's first husband, Uncle Mooch, to the left of Mooch's brother Mel. I do not know where my mom is hiding in this photo.

And then we go back 34 years, to 1967, to Lynden, Washington to see some of the same people.

That'd be, from the left, Uncle Hank, Aunt Ruth, Grandma Slotemaker, dad, mom, Aunt Judy, Uncle Mel and Aunt Arlene. I think Uncle Mooch may have been out of the country via the Air Force at this point in time and had not yet met his first wife, Aunt Jane.

Another photo from Sugarcreek, Ohio. My dad and his siblings, Uncle Mel, Aunt Ruth, Aunt Arlene and Uncle Mooch. Only Uncle Mooch remains vertical.

If I remember right it was during this mom and dad roadtrip that we somehow coordinated them showing up in Las Vegas whilst I was there over Thanksgiving weekend in the year, I think, 1995.

I was staying at what was then called Treasure Island, took mom and dad out for lunch at the Luxor. Talked them into going on the Luxor simulator rides, which mom surprisingly enjoyed.

This time in Vegas was when the Infamous BIG BOX Incident took place. At lunch, at Luxor, mom casually mentions they have a box of Christmas presents they want me to take north with me to deliver. I can't do that, says I. I'm on a plane. You don't take big boxes on a plane.

But, mom would not take no for an answer.

I waved mom and dad goodbye and schlepped the BIG BOX to my room.

One of my travel companions had a fit upon seeing the BIG BOX. She insisted there was no way we could take that on the place.

What happened next I have never understood. She tells me she'll take care of it, gets a handcart to wheel the BIG BOX down to a Treasure Island service desk.

They said, no problem, we can ship that for you, just write down your address, so, I do so, writing down the Mount Vernon address on Pawnee Lane. They did not weigh the box, did not ask for money. And a week later the box showed up at my front door, delivered by UPS. 

That this happened perplexes me to this day. Just realized, we are coming up on Thanksgiving weekend of 2024. The BIG BOX Incident happened almost three decades ago, yet remains a vivid memory...

At Wichita Bluff Nature Area Summit Learning Sad News About Aunt Ruth

On this picture perfect totally blue-sky 3rd Thursday of November, it was to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area I ventured for some salubrious nature communing and the resulting endorphins, via fast walking the Circle Trail

Shortly before reaching the highest spot on the bluffs my phone made its incoming text message noise. Upon sitting at one of the tables under the covered pavilion at the bluff summit I woke up my phone and saw the following message from my little sister, Michele...

Just got this from Aunt Jane. Passing it along in case you haven't heard.

www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/mathilda-hershberger-obituary?id=56822354

I was fairly certain Mathilda Hershberger was known to me as Aunt Ruth. This was confirmed when I went to the link.

Aunt Ruth was my dad's second oldest sister. A couple years ago I recollect asking my sister Jackie if she'd received the annual Christmas newsletter from Aunt Ruth. She had not. In the last Christmas newsletter from Aunt Ruth she made mention of the fact that Uncle Hank was about to turn 100. Reading Aunt Ruth's obituary, I learned Uncle Hank died back in 2023, so, I am guessing he made it to 100.

Uncle Hank and Aunt Ruth were Wycliffe Bible Translators. The bible translating took place in Australia, which is where their three kids were born, Danny, Carol and Steve. 

I recollect is as being a real big deal when Uncle Hank and Aunt Ruth first went to Australia. It was via an ocean liner, sailing out of Vancouver, British Columbia. The whole family went to Canada to see them float away. I remember it being a big crowd, on shore and onboard. And a lot of tears flowing.

This would have been during the 1960s. 

I also remember it being a real big deal to return to Vancouver one of the early times the Hershbergers returned to America for a visit. I remember me and my siblings being really excited to spot Hank & Ruth waving at us from the ship.

I do not remember when it was we first met our new Australian cousins. I know it was not via meeting them getting off a ship. I do remember we thought those new cousins were quite exotic with their Aussie accents. 

I think it was during the 1990s, or maybe 1980s, that the Hershbergers moved their bible translating operation back to the United States. I do not think I have seen any Hershbergers this century. None were at the big Slotemaker-Jones Family Reunion in Lynden back in 2002.

I do recollect emailing Cousin Carol at her missionary location somewhere in Africa. That would have been in the 1990s and maybe earlier in this current century.

My relative numbers keep dwindling. Aunt Jane's first husband, Uncle Mooch, known to some as Uncle Gerry, is the last of my dad's siblings. 

On my dad's relative side of the family Uncle Mooch is know the oldest, cousin Linda the second oldest, me the third oldest.

On my mom's relative side of the family I am the oldest remaining relative. Clearly my days are dwindling...

Police Brutality Disrupts Dallas Cowboy Football Game

 I thought this outrageous incident of police brutality was amusing, in addition to being outrageous...

Won't Make It To Mount Baker Ski Season Open Whilst in Texas

I saw that which you see here, this morning, via the online version of the Seattle Times. I had a multi-reaction. One was, well, this is yet one more thing I see in news from my old Washington home zone which I would never, could never, see in a Texas newspaper about a similar scene in Texas.

I think the Ruidoso zone of New Mexico is the closest location from my current location, where I would find a ski area. Maybe Colorado is closer, but, I suspect, without checking a map, that New Mexico's ski areas are closer.

Seeing mention made of Mount Baker, and ski season, also triggered that usually dormant homesick feeling. I used to look out my living room windows and see Mount Baker in the distance.

That actually is not Mount Baker you see in the photo. It is called the Mount Baker ski area, but Mount Shuksan is the mountain you are near whilst skiing the Mount Baker ski area. The actual Mount Baker volcano is a short distance to the south, or to the right, in the photo.

I do not remember when last I was at the Mount Baker ski area. It may have been the time, in the 1990s, when nephews Christopher and Jeremy took me hiking up Tabletop Mountain, a hiking venue south of the Mount Baker ski area, north of Mount Baker.

I brought my cross country skis with me to Texas. I recollect only skiing on them once, in Texas. A time when sufficient snow accumulated enabling skiing on the slopes in Arlington's Veterans Park. Doing such drew some attention from kids who had never seen skis skiing in person before.

I stored my cross country skis in an outdoor storage closet, which was not air-conditioned. At some point I discovered that the extreme heat of summer had caused the skis to delaminate, rendering them worthless.

Almost every winter since I have been in Wichita Falls there has been a short period with sufficient snow on the ground which would have made cross country skiing the Circle Trail a fun thing to do. Particularly the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area section, which has some good up and down grades.

I wonder if ever again I will slide on skis, roll on roller blades, or pedal a bike? I suspect, of those three, pedaling a bike is the most likely...

Cloudy Sunday Stroll at Lake Wichita Park Without Kayaking

It was to Lake Wichita Park, and what would have been the shadow of Mount Wichita, had this 3rd Sunday of November not been totally overcast with clouds preparing to drip some rain.

The rain deluges earlier this month have raised the Lake Wichita water level, rendering the new kayak launching dock in total float mode for the first time which I have eye witnessed.

Though overcast, the sun was still able to provide enough warming rays to bring the temperature into the 60s, making for an extremely pleasant Sunday stroll.

Seeing that kayak launch today had me trying to remember what became of my inflatable kayak. I do not recollect it malfunctioning, and thus getting tossed. I do not remember the kayak making the move to Wichita Falls.

If Lake Wichita developed into regularly having enough water in it to float a boat, it might be fun to get a kayak again.

Ides of November Shadow of the Lucy Park Thin Man

On this 15th Ides of November Day of 2024, it was to Lucy Park the Shadow of the Thin Man ventured today, in shorts and t-shirt, due to the temporary return of summer-like weather.

I was pleased to find that the Lucy Park backwoods jungle has mostly dried up from last week's series of drenching deluges.

Lucy Park was having itself a lot of action today, with multiples enjoying various forms of recreation, with the majority being disc golfers. A sport about which I fail to see the attraction.

Temperatures dipping below freezing are on the weather menu, scheduled to arrive before the arrival of Thanksgiving.

I am in no mood to get super cold. I hope to get through winter with no ice storms, no snow, no sub-zero temperatures, no nothing slippery and cold.

I have adopted the age-appropriate weather attitude of an elderly person...

Fall Is Starting To Show Up At Sikes Lake

Almost halfway through November, today, whilst walking around Sikes Lake I saw the first sign, this Fall season, of leaves losing their green color, transitioning to yellow, on their way to orange, before turning brown and falling to the ground.

The first freeze of the current cooler time of the year is scheduled to happen later this month, a few days before Thanksgiving.

I do not previously remember it being this late in the year without switching the interior climate control to heat mode.

Though the climate control system is still in air conditioning mode, the A/C has not needed to do its cooling task for quite few days.

Seeing Ma Joad, Flubbo the Gut & Madame McNutty Took Me to WinCo

This Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day is totally baffling to me.

Is it part of a stage production of The Grapes of Wrath? I have never seen a stage production of The Grapes of Wrath.

Is that Ma Joad in the center? Did I alter the image of Ma Joad with the head of either the entity I refer to as Flubbo the Gut or the entity I refer to as Madame McNutty? 

The Ma Joad likeness sort of looks like both of those entities, frumpy, elderly and plump.

Changing the subject from Ma Joad to Wichita Falls.

Via the Texoma Homepage today I learned WinCo is going ahead with opening a store in in Wichita Falls. Construction to begin in December, completion by summer or early fall. WinCo has agreed to pay for a boulevard upgrade, an agreement which hastened approval of the project.

A WinCo in this town is going to change many people's grocery shopping habits. As in, for me, it will put an end to buying groceries at Walmart. WinCo makes the best bagels I have ever been blessed to consume, among many other good things.

The new WinCo will be a short distance from ALDI. 

Veteran's Day Sikes Lake Walk Around Wichita Falls Waterfall

On this Veteran's Day, second Monday of November of 2024, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured for a walk around the lake, stopping at one of Wichita Falls' falls, falling a little water over the Sikes Lake Dam, for the first time in a long time. 

A dam which was fall-free for a long time due to the long drought, which somewhat abated last week from a few days of deluges.

The moat surrounding my abode has evaporated enough to allow my usual access to my motorized means of motion.

But, more rain is scheduled in a few days.

I suspect we are in for several months of excessive dripping, hopefully without that dripping arriving frozen.

I am in no mood to deal with an ice storm, sub-zero temperatures, or snow, or any combo of such.

Sunday In Lucy Park Flooded With Nuts

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured on this second Sunday of the next to last month of 2024, to join throngs of other nature communers enjoying the return to a clear blue sky after several days of deluges and thunderstorms.

The Wichita River was running slightly higher than it was the previous visit, a couple days ago. The added water was causing the river to flow faster. 

That parental unit and kid you see at the north end of the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge was venturing onto the bridge quite tenuously. So, I opted not to walk further out on the bridge, due to knowing doing so would cause the bridge to move, likely unsettling the already nervous kid.

There was other evidence in the park of the recent bout of deluges.

The flooded area you see here is near the Lucy Park Log Cabin and swimming pool parking lot.

The leaves in the trees are still green, and still stuck to the limbs. 

There is one item falling from some of the trees, other than leaves.

Pecans.

One sees a lot of pecan pickers scouring the ground under pecan trees, looking for the highly valued nuts.

Such seems like way too much bother to me.

Stormy Rainstorm Thunder Booming Friday In Wichita Falls

You are looking out my kitchen window, through a wall of rain, copiously coating the outer world with a thick layer of wet.

And surrounding my abode with a moat requiring a careful crossing to get to my motorized means of motion, to drive to Walmart to dodge roof leaks and get some endorphins via aerobic stimulation whilst enjoying the Walmart anthropological displays.

Rain has been falling, off and on, with varying intensity, since before midnight, last night. Along with some loud thunder booms.

So far, no tornado or hail action.

The dire change of weather at my location the past week bodes ill for the coming winter. It is already seeming like winter.

I do find the sound of raindrops dripping fast to be relaxing, though a bit loud, at times, like right now.

I Could Not Approve Of Wichita Falls Minimum Wage Initiative

I saw that which you see here, this morning, via the online version of the Seattle Times. Everett is a city at the north end of the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Metropolitan Area.

On ballots in Washington, in addition to political positions, there are multiple initiatives, propositions, referendums and bond issues.

In Washington a citizen can take the initiative to get enough signatures to put an initiative on the ballot, be it on the city, county or state level.

From the first time I voted, in Texas, til the most recent time voting in Texas, it has been quite noticeable there are way fewer things to vote on, in Texas, than I was used to in Washington.

California and Oregon are the same as Washington. Multiple measures to vote on. Why such a difference between the west coast and my location in the South? I have no idea why there is such a difference. 

The west coast states seem to be a much more participatory democracy than Texas is. Does it have something to do with the west coast population being much better educated? 

Anyway, such differences are perplexing...

COVID Is Over So Time To Build A Sand Castle With Theo

That which you see here I have used, for years, as a bookmark, marking what page I am on in a book being currently read.

This 'bookmark' was part of a folding card, which, yesterday, after years of use, split into two pieces.

I'd long forgotten the message on the card sent by my Favorite Nephew Theo...

"When COVID is over I want you to come over to build a sand castle.

Theo"

It was way back in August of 2017, at Birch Bay, in Washington's Whatcom County, that I had myself a mighty fine time making a sand castle with Theo and his twin sister, Ruby.

I think the exact date of the sand castle building was August 13, 2017, a Sunday.

I can remember the date because two days prior was my birthday, with that day starting off with the Tacoma Trio of David, Theo & Ruby singing me happy birthday, in Tacoma, before the long, laborious, traffic-jam ridden ride north to Birch Bay, where that night, at a restaurant next to our lodging location, happy birthday was again sung to me, along with a cupcake with a candle lit up in the middle of the cupcake. 

The morning after the sand castle building, I took the elevator to the roof of the lodging location, from whence I could see the remains of the sand castle which Theo and I made the day before. So, I elevatored down to the lodging location's floor to get Theo to take the photo you see below.

Theo was six or seven when we were at Birch Bay. I am fairly certain Theo is now a teenager. I have not seen David, Theo, Ruby and their parental units since March of 2019, in Arizona.

The COVID nightmare has mostly faded into history...

OMG From Singapore's Miss Mali

A post this post-election morning, or mourning, from my best Singapore friend, Miss Mali Cheng, simply reacting, as many have, with a loud OMG.

And that is all I have to say about this particular subject...

Dry Lucy Park Walk Under Thunder Threatening Sky

Between thunderstorms on this first Sunday of November it was to Lucy Park I ventured for some cloudy nature communing.

After last night's downpours I was expecting the Wichita River to be running more water than it was flowing today.

As you can see via the photo documentation, the Lucy Park suspension bridge is nowhere near being submerged by a flooding river.

My regular way to my motorized means of motion was flooded this morning, making for a longer than the norm walk to vehicular transport.

Currently the sky is growing dark again, and my phone just beeped with an imminent storm warning.

Apparently, in addition to the expected thunderstorming and heavy rain, possible hail and tornado action is on today's weather menu of possibilities. 

I have never heard the tornado sirens go off in this town due to an actual tornado. I experienced that several times whilst living in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone. 

I suspect a nap is in my future today, what with sleeping last night being highly problematic due to the thunder booming...

Thinking Of Cascade Mountain Drive After Night Of Texas Thunderstorms

I saw that which you see here, this 3rd November morning, on Facebook. A look at some mountain scenery on Highway 20, on the last day of the previous month of October.

Highway 20 is a road which traverses through the valley in which I lived prior to moving to Texas, traversing from Anacortes, through the town I grew up in, Burlington, and on east, through North Cascades National Park, before making its way to Eastern Washington.

At my current location I could drive hundreds of miles in any direction and not find any snow-covered mountains.

At my current location, Wichita Falls, Texas, last night, I got to experience one of the wildest storms I have ever experienced. Rain began pouring down about an hour before midnight. And then from midnight on, til daylight, almost nonstop lightning lit up the night and disturbed the possibility of sleep with booming thunder.

A few miles north, across the Red River, in Oklahoma, last night's storm produced multiple tornadoes

Thunderstorming and heavy rain is currently scheduled to start up again in about an hour. 

I currently do not know if my regular outdoor endorphin inducing aerobic activity is going to be doable, due to weather woes, requiring walking in Walmart, instead, which never is even remotely aerobic....

Second November Day In Texas Totally Cloud Covered Whilst Adjusting Time

Looking out my computer room window on this second day of the 2024 version of November, for the first time in a long-time clouds are totally blocking the usual blue sky.

Today is looking like a stereotypical Fall and Winter day in my old home zone of Western Washington.

Rain and thunderstorming is on the Wichita Falls, Texas weather menu for the next several days.

So far, I have seen only slight dripping and have heard no thunder booms, nor seen any bright flashes of light.

This drought plagued part of the planet is in dire need of some excessive precipitation.

I have already turned back time an hour on the four devices in my interior space which require such to be done manually. Only the clock in my motorized means of motion remains to be returned to standard time.

The TV, phone and computer all do the time switch automatically. Why is such not universal?

November's Scenic Wonders Of America Takes Me To Bryce Canyon National Park

I flipped my Scenic Wonders of America wall calendar to November, this morning, to see that this month's scenic wonder is one of my favorite American Scenic Wonders.

Bryce Canyon National Park.

I have only been to Bryce Canyon twice, with the most recent time being Easter weekend of 2096.

Unlike Grand Canyon, and other canyon, Bryce Canyon is not actually a canyon. Why the canyon word is in its name, I do not know.

What I do know is Bryce Canyon is quite similar to Grand Canyon in one aspect, that being that one begins those canyon hikes from the "canyon" rim, hiking far below the "canyon" rim.

Going down is easy. The hike back to start is not so easy, what with the high elevation of both hiking venues making oxygen more scarce than what one is used to.

I remember the Grand Canyon hike to the Colorado River, via the Bright Angel Trail as being so easy, heading down, and so brutal heading back up, with the final hiking hour in the dark.

I remember the names of the Bryce Canyon trails I hiked, the Peekaboo Trail and Navajo Loop Trail. I recollect going down a long series of switchbacks to get to the trails. Going down those switchbacks was easy, hiking back up those switchbacks required a lot of heavy-duty breathing, trying to get oxygen.

I wonder how well, at my current elderly age, I would handle hiking into Bryce or Grand Canyon? It is highly unlikely I will ever find out...